HIPAA Compliant healthcare organizations should pass a special check, called HIPAA Compliance audit. The Department of Health and Human Rights’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) appointed and led these controls. They intend to check, how those organizations maintain the security of the PHI and ePHI and keep up to HIPAA standards and rules. It is not so easy at the first sight, because you should maintain all requirements and policies properly to be ahead of the game. But how is it possible to prepare for them to maximally exclude all the risks? Let’s discuss it!
The Short History of HIPAA Compliance Audits
First audits started in 2011 and finished in 2012. As a result, only 11% of all companies passed the HIPAA Compliance check without any violations of the HIPAA Rules. In more than 60% of organizations, this control detected negligence of the rules. So later OCR created the second stage of the audit to control all those aspects, which organizations failed in the previous stage. Nowadays, HIPAA Compliance Audits are led regularly and selectively, because OCR is just short of hands to check all the HIPAA Compliant Organizations at once.
What Rules Should a Company Maintain to Pass the Check?
A certain healthcare organization can’t pass the audit without a reason for that. Of course, it would be a great option if OCR could check all healthcare organizations regularly for negligence. But as we’ve mentioned before, OCR doesn’t have enough resources to organize such a system. So, there should be a certain reason for this, such as compliance with the organization or data failures, about which Office for Civil Rights knows. Also, OCR can choose an organization for a checkup at random.
There are 5 major rules, that an organization should hold on to.
You can also have a look through them at our article “How to Become HIPAA Compliant?”. The first two rules are the most critical of all:
- The HIPAA Privacy Rule. It aims to protect PHI by establishing limits on how it can be used without the patient’s authorization. It gives a right for individuals to have a look at and make copies of their medical records.
- The HIPAA Security Rule. It provides standards on the way of transmitting, accessing, and saving PHI. This rule also concerns standards of sensitive information storage.
- The Transaction Rule. It concerns codes, which are used in HIPAA transactions and points out their usage for providing medical records’ accuracy and safety.
- The Identifiers Rule. It aims to guarantee the proper usage of HIPAA unique identifiers by covered entities performing managed administrative and commercial operations.
- The Enforcement Rule. It determines fines for violation of HIPAA requirements for safety and confidentiality.
So, to be fortunate in the HIPAA Compliance Audit, you need to maintain all these rules responsibly and accurately. Otherwise, OCR will force you to pay fines for violation of these rules.
Tips How to Pass the HIPAA Compliance Audit Well
The key to a successful meeting with OCR is to make a kind of self-check of all your policies and rules before, especially how are you maintain and defend your patients’ PHI. You can avoid or eliminate such risks before OCR pays a visit for you. To make a really good control you can make a checklist of the HIPAA Compliance, so your team can understand the main principles that it is responsible for and start a process of maintaining those principles. This team can consist of internal workers, or it can be an external organization.
So, here is an efficient list to make sure your business associates and covered entities can pass the control:
- Appoint HIPAA Security and Privacy Officers
We have a whole post about the importance of such specialists in HIPAA Compliant companies, but it won’t be superfluous if we highlight their necessity in the audit. Such employees have a responsibility to maintain the privacy and safety of PHI, demonstrate efforts being made for that, organize regular checkups and inspect risks of data breaches. Also, they should make documentation or records of such incidents in their organization, so in case OCR decides to make the audit you can show appropriate papers.
- Provide Staff Coaching
Under HIPAA every employee should pass the training on how to handle PHI and ePHI and provide its’ security and privacy. Also, you should document these instructions to show them to entitled inspectors if required.
- Study Your Ongoing Standards
You should also document your HIPAA compliant rules and standards, so you can use them for your organization’s regular actions and possible HIPAA Compliance Control.
- Do In-House Control
This procedure is a great chance to detect your organization’s weaknesses in keeping up with HIPAA requirements and improve them. Your team should make detailed consequences which spheres of the business should be revised and corrected.
- Make Correctives After an Unsuccessful Internal Checkup
It is not enough to detect problems, but you also should solve them. Find ways how to improve your business’s weak aspects and don’t forget to make proper documentation. You should mention all alterations being made to make your organization more HIPAA Compliant.
Outcomes
HIPAA Compliance Audit is not an easy procedure. It requires a lot of preparation. But you don’t have to be nervous about it. Just make sure that you provide a proper PHI defense and follow the checkup list above to correct your drawbacks. In case you are good at all points, you’re more likely to pass the HIPAA Compliance Check. But don’t sit back before time, don’t neglect preparation, and good luck with it! 🙂
